The bright blue Cornflower was once a common sight in the countryside through the months of July, August and September. In the past it grew as a weed in fields of corn on light soils and was very plentiful - sadly, it is now on the edge of extinction except for a population found on the Aran Islands and in Wicklow.

The Cornflower has many cultivated relations, and these are very popular as fresh cut and dried flowers. Cornflower is proven to help grain grow due to root secretions and is now used as a beneficial weed in some USA grain crops. In 1992 Design By Nature saved the Irish Cornflower from extinction. However pollen from garden strains of cornflower effected the crop in 1998 and the breeding program had to be restarted again.http://www.wildflowers.ie/